[1] Then Bildad the Shuhite replied to Job:
[2] “How long will you go on like this? You sound like a blustering wind.
[3] Does God twist justice? Does the Almighty twist what is right?
[4] Your children must have sinned against him, so their punishment was well deserved.
[5] But if you pray to God and seek the favor of the Almighty,
[6] and if you are pure and live with integrity, he will surely rise up and restore your happy home.
[7] And though you started with little, you will end with much.
[8] “Just ask the previous generation. Pay attention to the experience of our ancestors.
[9] For we were born but yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are as fleeting as a shadow.
[10] But those who came before us will teach you. They will teach you the wisdom of old.
[11] “Can papyrus reeds grow tall without a marsh? Can marsh grass flourish without water?
[12] While they are still flowering, not ready to be cut, they begin to wither more quickly than grass.
[13] The same happens to all who forget God. The hopes of the godless evaporate.
[14] Their confidence hangs by a thread. They are leaning on a spider’s web.
[15] They cling to their home for security, but it won’t last. They try to hold it tight, but it will not endure.
[16] The godless seem like a lush plant growing in the sunshine, its branches spreading across the garden.
[17] Its roots grow down through a pile of stones; it takes hold on a bed of rocks.
[18] But when it is uprooted, it’s as though it never existed!
[19] That’s the end of its life, and others spring up from the earth to replace it.
[20] “But look, God will not reject a person of integrity, nor will he lend a hand to the wicked.
[21] He will once again fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.
[22] Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the home of the wicked will be destroyed.”